Becker Still Has a Chance at Earning No. 1 Ranking With Victory at the ATP

Boris Becker set one goal for 1990: earn the No. 1 spot in the world tennis rankings.

That goal still is attainable as the inaugural ATP Tour comes to a climax with the season-ending World Championships that begin Tuesday.

Some of Becker’s peers think he already is above the rest of the field.

“He is the best tennis player in the world,” said Pete Sampras, the U.S. Open champion.

Becker trails Sweden’s Stefan Edberg by 225 points on the computer rankings of the Assn. of Tennis Professionals.

If Becker wins the $2-million event and Edberg falters in the semifinals, Becker will have achieved his goal: He will end the year as No. 1 in the world.

But Becker has a torn muscle in his left thigh that forced him to default in the recent Paris Open final. He was still in Munich today, training with Nikki Pilic, Germany’s Davis Cup coach.

Richard Evans, an ATP spokesman, said Becker also was undergoing treatment. Evans said Becker would not be scheduled to play until Wednesday, giving him more time to recover.

Becker began the year by announcing that he was skipping the Davis Cup in order to concentrate on capturing the No. 1 ranking. This was a blow to the German team, which had won the Davis Cup title twice in a row with Becker’s help. This year, the Germans were eliminated early.

The computer ranking system could allow Becker to claim the No. 1 spot although he failed to win any of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

The players are ranked according to the points earned in their best 14 tournaments of the year.

Although he might benefit from the system, Becker has said that Grand Slam tournaments should carry more weight in determining the rankings.

Becker has won five titles this season, and reached the final in five others.

The ATP Championships features the world’s top eight players. In addition to Edberg and Becker, others competing are Sampras, who is ranked fifth; Ivan Lendl, the former No. 1 who won the Australian Open and now is ranked third; No. 4 Andre Agassi; No. 6 Andres Gomez of Ecuador, the French Open winner; No. 7 Thomas Muster of Austria, and No. 8 Emilio Sanchez of Spain. Goran Ivanisevic of Yugoslavia is the first alternate should one of the eight be forced to withdraw.

The players are split into two groups of four each. After round-robin matches, the two top players from each group advance to the semifinals. The champion will receive $600,000.